Hopkins at Holy Family Catholic
7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5

With four other Class 2A, Section 6 teams residing in the top-10 rankings, Thursday’s game between Hopkins (12-8-1) and No. 15-2A Holy Family Catholic (12-6-2) could help propel the winner into a possible home playoff game — but it most certainly will knock the loser out of the picture as it’s the only meeting between the teams this winter.

Holy Family Catholic has surged in the Wright County Conference portion of its schedule, winning six straight games, including a 6-2 victory over No. 9-1A Delano/Rockford last Thursday. That victory set the Fire near the top of the league standings with less than two weeks to play. Will Garin (19-23-42) and James Marooney (3-5-8) each had two goals, while John Peterson (26-25-51) had a goal and two assists.

With Thursday’s game against Hopkins its last in Section 6 play, the Fire have a 2-2-1 record against possible playoff opponents (splitting with No. 8-2A Wayzata, beating No. 9-2A Minnetonka and losing and tying with No. 10-2A Benilde-St. Margaret’s).

Hopkins has been heading the other direction since a 10-2-0 start got the Royals into the state rankings. Since the turn of the year, the Royals are just 2-6-1, although they did beat Minnetonka 4-2 last Saturday -  a big win for section seeding. Hopkins trailed 2-0 after two periods but exploded for third-period goals from Noah Bragg (12-8-20), Peyton Bolstad (2-7-9), Matt Hines (4-9-13) and Josh Laven (16-16-32).